“So, if I am dying, and let’s say this is my life and I have one day
left, and you have this possible cure, you can’t give it to me?” “Oh,” said Dr. Shoo,” we could, but then we would be arrested
and lose our licenses. Even if we saved your life.”
“That’s just crap,” he yelled, pounding his fist on the table.
Dr. Shoo nodded. “But that’s the law. If you have a way of changing it, there are a few hundred scientists around here who would carry you off on their shoulders.”
“Where’s the legal department?” Nick asked.
“Fourth floor,” said Dr. Shoo. “Ask for George Horgan. He’s the
one who helps us get through legal.”
“Excuse me, I’ve got a job to do.” Nick stood, then made a beeline for the hallway.
Upstairs, Nick received the same story about delays, with added legal phrases and jargon sprinkled here and there. George Hogan, the senior legal analyst for Bio-Tech, told him they could appeal to the government board that made such decisions but they only met twice a year and they already had a full docket. In his opinion, that option was a dead end.
“So, if, say, we have the cure for cancer, that doesn’t get us to the front of the line?”
“Mr. Harris, I understand what you have down in the lab may be incredible, and we would love to start testing now. I have a dear family friend who is dying from pancreatic cancer right now and will probably not be alive in the next few days. He would jump at this chance. But the law is the law. We spend our lives trying to deal with red tape the government throws in front of us. Even after we have tested products and medications and ruled out side effects, there is still a huge lull.” He paused and sipped his coffee. “I’ll tell you this,” he continued, “if we could get rid of half of the BS we have to go through, there would be a lot more treatments out there for all sorts of illnesses.”
“What about an executive order?” asked Nick. “What executive order?”
“Like from the President of the United States. That kind of executive order. Then we could move forward?”
The lawyer looked over at his paralegal, who just shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know, Mr. Harris, if that is even possible. We’d have to check on the precedence of—”